Heritage Institute's Balici: Rosia Montana urban plan, conservation of local monuments, top priorities

Drawing up a general urban plan (PUG) for the small town of Rosia Montana, of a tourism management plan for the site, as well as ensuring the best degree of conservation for the monuments there are problems that have to be solved after simultaneous inscription of the Rosia Montana Mining Cultural Landscape in the UNESCO World Heritage List and in the List of World Heritage in Danger, Stefan Balici, director general of the National Heritage Institute, told Romanian Parliaments Join Standing Committee for UNESCO on Tuesday.

"We discussed a schedule for actions to be used moving forward after the inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List of the Rosia Montana Mining Cultural Landscape and its simultaneous inscription in the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger. The list entails some special procedures obviously designed to stave off danger through international co-operation by providing expertise and establishing concrete actions. With the inclusion in these lists, UNESCO has also identified a series of problems that will have to be solved moving forward and that we are already dealing with," said Balici.

According to him, the first problem is the general urban plan (PUG) for the small town of Rosia Montana given that in its absence no construction works can be authorised, except for restoration works.

Balici also spoke about the development of a management plan and a subsequent document, a tourism management plan for the site, which is being developed by UNESCO organising committees.

He also pointed to the need to ensure the best degree of conservation for the monuments at Rosia Montana, mentioning the opportunity for the government to set up an investment programme.

Regarding the possibility of the Calea Eroilor monumental ensemble by Constantin Brancusi in Targu Jiu being accepted on the World Heritage List, Balici said that the file is at an assessment stage because UNESCO requested from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) a report examining the extent to which memorials associated with violent, recent traumatic events can be put on the World Heritage List and associated with UNESCO objectives, which are subsumed under the central idea of promoting peace.

The debate in the parliamentary committee marked the UNESCO World Heritage Day in Romania, which is celebrated on November 16 to mark the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) adopting on the same date in 1972 in Paris of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Committee chair Mihai Weber explained that the debate was chosen to mark the UNESCO World Heritage Day in Romania instead of a festive meeting, because he wanted to see if it something can be done, and because lawmakers should not restrict themselves to statements.